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San Jose celebrates its first Arab-American councilman

By John Woolfolk jwoolfolk@mercurynews.com

Posted:
01/07/2013 06:26:58 AM PST

Updated:
01/07/2013 06:27:22 AM PST

SAN JOSE -- San Jose marked another milestone in the growing diversity of the Bay Area's largest city with a swearing-in ceremony Sunday for newly elected Councilman Johnny Khamis, the city's first elected official of Arab descent.

Khamis, a 44-year-old financial adviser, won the November election to represent San Jose's District 10 in Almaden and Blossom valleys. His official swearing-in was Dec. 31, but he celebrated on Sunday before a crowd of some 200 well-wishers including his wife and two sons, Mayor Chuck Reed, Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen and council members Pete Constant, Pierluigi Oliverio, Rose Herrera and Kansen Chu.

"I'm deeply humbled," Khamis told the crowd at the ceremony in City Hall's distinctive glass rotunda after a Boy Scout troop presented the U.S. flag for the Pledge of Allegiance and a local high school freshman sang the national anthem.

Khamis thanked his wife and campaign volunteers and, introducing his new staff, urged residents to stay involved in city affairs and to phone him with thoughts and ideas.

"My door is always open," Khamis said. "I want to make sure to get your ideas."

Reed reformer

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Khamis' election marked a rightward turn for a City Council long dominated by liberals aligned with employee unions representing cops, firefighters and other government workers. And it came amid a fierce battle to curb runaway pension costs that led to voter approval of Reed's reform measure in June that remains under court challenge and which union leaders blame for an officer exodus and rising crime.

Khamis succeeds Councilwoman Nancy Pyle, a retired schoolteacher and swing vote on the council often seen as sympathetic to the city's unionized workers.

Sunday's festivities came on a day marred by San Jose's first homicide of 2013, which followed a year in which San Jose saw 46 killings, a 20-year high. Sunday's killing, which many in the room weren't even aware of, went unmentioned.

But Reed welcomed Khamis as a reliable ally in his fiscal reform agenda.

"I see reinforcement," Reed told the crowd. "We have a lot of work to do. There's heavy lifting to right the ship of state of San Jose. We're all going to work together for the good of the city."

Khamis pledged to the crowd that, "I'll work together with my colleagues to put San Jose's fiscal house in order and restore services."

More diversity

Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman introduced Khamis as the city's first Arab-American to serve on the council and told the crowd, "You've elected a family man, a businessman and a public servant."

Khamis defeated sportscaster Robert Braunstein in the November runoff.

Reed said it was nice to see "a little more diversity" on the council. Khamis, who is of Palestinian descent and grew up in San Jose, joins Nguyen, who is the city's first Vietnamese-American council member; Chu, who is the city's first Chinese-American council member; and Ash Kalra, the city's first Indo-American council member.

And though the council is nonpartisan, Khamis joins Constant as the second Republican on the 11-member council long dominated by registered Democrats.

"How long has it been since two Republicans sat on the council?" asked Reed, a Democrat.

Added Constant, who said he's San Jose's first Greek-American councilman: "I'm excited because it doubles the Republican caucus."